Sweet potato acreage has increased tremendously in the Suwannee Valley agricultural area, which includes Madison County, from fewer than 100 acres to nearly 2,000 acres today. However, wireworms—larval click beetles—are a serious threat to sweet potatoes in the region. Recently, one grower had been unsuccessfully trying to develop an integrated pest management (IPM) program to manage the wireworms that were damaging his sweet potato crop, so he turned to UF/IFAS Extension for help. A team of UF/IFAS state and county Extension faculty members in Madison County responded by implementing a season-long scouting program. Scouting, which determines the nature and extent of the pest problem, is the first step in any integrated pest management program. The UF/IFAS team set yellow sticky traps, grain bait stations, and black light traps in four of the grower’s fields in order to scientifically detect and characterize the wireworm populations, as well as to determine the economic threshold of the damage caused. With the scope of the problem determined, the next step is to work with IPM consultants to develop a plan that includes cultural, biological, and chemical methods to keep the problem under control. This is just one of the many ways UF/IFAS is helping growers in Madison County.
UF/IFAS File Photo
Are you or your children looking for adventure this summer? Madison County 4-H offers a variety of camps during the summer at 4-H Camp Cherry Lake, a scenic, tranquil, and affordable place to grow, find peace, and make friends. These events include specialty camps and workshops, Theater Day Camp, Sewing Day Camp, Peanut Butter and Jelly Day Camp, Fit-4-Life Sports Day Camp, and 4-H Camp Cherry Lake Overnight Camp.
Camp Cherry Lake is open year-round and may be reserved for school field trips, church retreats, family reunions, business meetings, teacher in-service trainings, and weddings as well as events held by civic organizations and athletic groups. Camp Cherry Lake’s features include an auditorium that seats 200, audiovisual equipment upon request, an air-conditioned dining hall that seats 150 people, 14 rustic cabins that sleep ten people per cabin, an open-air pavilion with a large barbecue grill, waterfront facilities suitable for kayaking, fishing, and swimming, a ball field with recreational equipment upon request, food service, and a climate-controlled building that sleeps 28 people.
Visit http://florida4h.org to learn more about Florida 4-H Camps in Madison County.
Photo: 4-H youth enjoying summer camp activities at Camp Cherry Lake, 2014. UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones
Alumni
Students
Employees
Looking for more information on the UF/IFAS Extension in Madison County?
